by Michael Martin
Published in The BANAR November 1995
On August 26, Blackburn Hamlet residents had a chance to find out as the Lafarge Quarry on Bearbrook Road conducted its first open house.
For years I have driven past its gates, watching the smoke billow out of the green smokestack, listening to (and feeling) the regular blasting, and watching huge, yellow, pit trucks rumble back and forth in the distance. The chance to see a real quarry close up was an opportunity not to be missed.
When the gates opened at 10:00 a.m. I was there with my wife, Sharon, and our two children, Heather and Stephen. By the end, approximately 600 visitors attended.
A display tent was set up with information about the rock blasting operations as well as other Lafarge products and the quarry.
As far as the kids were concerned, the tent was the place where they were given their very own hard hats and balloons. And what’s at the quarry? Obviously, the quarry itself, where limestone rock is mined and crushed. The site also contains an asphalt plant (the green smokestack) and a readymix concrete plant. And trucks. Lots of trucks. Some of the large pieces of equipment which work the quarry – a front-end loader, a cement truck and one of the giant pit dump trucks – were on display. A raised platform permitted viewing of the trucks and to even sit inside of them. The kids were thrilled (not to mention some parents).
We visited the control booth of the ready mix concrete plant, where I learned everything necessary about the mass production of concrete.
The highlight was the pits themselves. School buses took visitors on a guided tour of the heart of the quarry where there are two massive excavation sites – the north and the south quarries (only the south is in operation) – as well as the rock crushing operations.
A total of 40 Lafarge employees volunteered their time showing and explaining everything about the operation. I appreciated every one of them. Not being an expert in the intricacies of quarry work, it helped to always have someone nearby to answer questions.
Peter Schwenger of Lafarge organized the open house and says that this is in line with the objective: to show and inform Blackburn Hamlet residents of what goes on at the quarry, to illustrate its role in the local construction industry, to demonstrate what is done to minimize its impact on residents, and to establish a good relationship with the community.
Although Hamlet residents will never be completely happy with the quarry activities so nearby, Lafarge’s open house was a solid demonstration of good will toward the community, and a firm step toward building closer ties. This is an obvious necessity and a long-term one. Although the quarry has been in operation since 1948, according to Peter, there is about another 30 years.